Hastings area girl aged ten overcomes disability to take on charity challenge

Fia is a pupil at Chailey Heritage Foundation, a Sussex charity that helps change the lives of young people with complex disabilties.

She is one of seven Chailey pupils taking on the charity’s ‘Amazing Chailey Challenge’. Fia loves being in water and has a very cheeky streak. She likes to play with the staff members who support her so Fia’s challenge is to stretch out her arms and push down the heads of her supporters in the hydrotherapy pool 7 times.

She will be joined by other pupils such as

Tristan Turner, aged 11, who will attempt to bounce seven times on a trampoline. When he first arrived at Chailey Heritage School a few years ago, he couldn’t walk but has worked hard on his strength using a trike and a walker and is now able to balance on the trampoline.

Nina, who is eight, and from Brighton, will be challenging herself to push down the pedals of her trike seven times in a row. Nina has spent the last few weeks learning this movement and although she cannot do a full rotation yet – this has been a significant breakthrough in her mobility, strength and coordination.

Head of Fundraising at CHF Will Folkes said: “We are hoping that individuals, families and groups will be inspired by the determination of the Chailey Challengers and join our fundraising campaign. The Amazing Chailey Challenge runs from the 21st – 27th March and during that week we want people to challenge themselves. From running 7km to making 7 cakes, we want raising money for CHF to be fun and rewarding.

"The Amazing Chailey Challenge is based around the number 7 – which is a very significant number for the charity. Chailey Heritage Foundation (CHF) began with just seven children, and generations later the charity has become one of the UK’s leading centres for the education and care of young people with the most complex neurodisabilities.

“We are very keen to welcome teams to the Amazing Chailey Challenge – our own fundraising team is on hand to offer support and our Chailey Challengers will be cheering them on. So if you and your team are up for an exhilarating challenge that will change the lives of our children and young people then we want to hear from you”.

The funds raised by the Amazing Chailey Challenge will help to support the specialist services, facilities and equipment that makes such a difference to the lives of the young peopl,e at Chailey Heritage Foundation including:

Patchwork Farm – their on-site therapy farm; specialist mobility equipment, including walkers and trikes; hippotherapy and therapeutic riding and Eye Gaze equipment, providing communication and computer access for people with limited mobility.

Find out more and to join the challenge here

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